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Todd Akin: 'I am in this race to win'

Akin also apologized in a radio interview and said he plans to stay in the race. | AP Photo

And Rep. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) tweeted: “I oppose abortion, but exceptions must be made for rape, incest and to protect life of the mother. Cong. Akin’s comment was wrong. #azsen”

Akin was viewed as the weakest candidate in a three-way primary race against McCaskill, who is widely considered the most vulnerable Democratic incumbent running in the Senate. Believing she had the best chance of beating Akin, McCaskill promoted the Republican before the Missouri primary earlier this month in an ad that called him the “true conservative” in the race.

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McCaskill, in an interview on MSNBC on Monday, called the comments a “window into Todd Akin’s mind.”

“I hope this is one of those gut check moments [for Missourians] when they say this is not somebody we want speaking for us on the floor of the United States Senate,” she said on “Morning Joe.”

McCaskill was clearly benefiting from the flap over Akin’s comments — a spokeswoman for the campaign said it has seen an “uptick” in donations, though she didn’t have specifics beyond that.

One of Akin’s primary opponents, Sarah Steelman, said on Twitter on Monday: “Todd Akin’s remarks about ‘legitimate rape’ were inexcusable, insulting and embarrassing to the GOP. #mosen

But Akin wasn’t without defenders, including some prominent social conservatives.

“This is an effort to try to direct attention away from…Claire McCaskill, who has been supportive of Planned Parenthood – an organization that’s been under investigation for criminal activity,” Family Research Council President Tony Perkins said in between meetings of the RNC platform committee.

Perkins lashed out at Brown of Massachusetts for saying Akin should get out of the race.

“He should be careful because based on some of his statements there may be calls for him to get out of his race,” he said of Brown. “He has been off the reservation on a number of Republican issues, conservative issues I should say. His support among conservatives is very shallow.”

Connie Mackey, the president of FRC Action PAC, said Republicans trying to pressure Akin out of the race lack “backbone.”

“We feel this is a case of gotcha politics,” she said. “We know who Todd Akin is because we’ve worked with him up on the Hill. He’s a defender of life. He’s a defender of families. This is just a controversy built up, it looks as though, to support his opposition. Claire McCaskill on the other hand has supported Planned Parenthood all these years…Todd Akin is getting a very bad break here. We support him fully and completely.”

Mackey added that she’s not agreeing or disagreeing with his statement.

“I know nothing about the science or the legal implications of his statement,” she said. “I do know politics, and I know gotcha politics when I see it.”

It is amazing to me that his other platform issues (likening student loans to socialism, questioning the value of voting rights laws, calling for the end of the federal school lunch program) had him in the lead over McCaskill to begin with- only this quote was what did him in? Think about that. Scary, people.

As a father of two young women, I echo the sentiments of Senator Brown of Massachusetts. I will go even further - as a registered Missouri voter who planned to vote for Representative Akin, I've decided to leave my selection for Missouri Senator blank. I can't vote for a person who holds the views Representative Akin has or cast a vote for Senator McCaskill whose votes in the United States Senate has done harm to the future of my daughters. Neither of them has my respect or vote.

From the University of South Carolina Study, 1996 “RESULT: The national rape-related pregnancy rate is 5.0% per rape among victims of reproductive age (aged 12 to 45); among adult women an estimated 32,101 pregnancies result from rape each year. Among 34 cases of rape-related pregnancy, the majority occurred among adolescents and resulted from assault by a known, often related perpetrator. Only 11.7% of these victims received immediate medical attention after the assault, and 47.1% received no medical attention related to the rape. A total 32.4% of these victims did not discover they were pregnant until they had already entered the second trimester; 32.2% opted to keep the infant whereas 50% underwent abortion and 5.9% placed the infant for adoption; an additional 11.8% had spontaneous abortion. CONCLUSIONS: Rape-related pregnancy occurs with significant frequency. It is a cause of many unwanted pregnancies and is closely linked with family and domestic violence.”

That’s Okay with Republicans, because, if pregnancy resulted, it wasn’t a “legitimate rape”.

Akin's 'sin' was not that he doesn't Represent the Republican Party and Republican "values".

Akin's 'sin' was that he actually articulated the bigoted, racist and sexist 'values' of the Republican Party and Akin did not follow the '2012 Republican Strategy', which is to stay silent on 'culture wars' topics, then, after the election, come out of the closet with the "darkies are okay in their places, but not in the temple" and "women should home, bare foot and pregnant and baking cookies".

Akin is a true Republican. Akin just messed up by speaking the Republicans' idea of the truth.

So all other Republicans now agree that women should have the right to abortion in the case of rape? Those who don't, now is the time to speak up for your beliefs... Those who do, are all RINOs and will be primaried by the Tea Party...

I'm a Republican and cannot believe someone, anyone would say what he said. Rapists are among the lowest form of life, they should all be ********d or put to death for the burden that the victims carry thru their lives. Step down.

We already know the talking points. Here's what he'll say, probably verbatim: "This is just a distraction. Sen. McCaskill has supported the Obama/Pelosi/Reid agenda. She rubber stamped the stimulus and Obamacare. Americans care about jobs and restoring our founders' vision. Politicians like my opponent are using wedge issues to distract from the relevant issues at hand."

I just want to point out that none of the Conservative/Tea Party folks on the Politico boards are coming to defend this guy....Just shows how scary and offensive he is. McCaskill was an easy GOP pick up, but now Missouri has to choose between a crappy senator or an embarrassment to our nation...Missouri will stay blue for the Senate.

Now Akin says he meant "forcible" rape...just tell me please what kind of rape is NOT forcible? Oh I know... according to men like Akin, all women really want sex so there can't be rape and if a man wants sex a woman has to give it him because it is his right so... can't be no rape! this man is a pig and anyone who supports him is a pig as well.

How does this compare to Obama's voting FOR Partial-Birth Abortion and AGAINST the Born-Alive Infant Protection Act, which prevents babies that survive abortion attempts from being killed or left to die? Akin's comments hardly matter compared to that!

Scott Brown once again shows why electing him was a big mistake. He cannot be counted on to support the party and needs to keep his big RINO mouth shut. he has enough to do to keep his own job,let alone ruin any chance to defeat Mc Caskell. SHUT THE &^%$#@!*@$ UP SCOTT.

Perkins lashed out at Brown of Massachusetts for saying Akin should get out of the race.

“He should be careful because based on some of his statements there may be calls for him to get out of his race,” he said of Brown. “He has been off the reservation on a number of Republican issues, conservative issues I should say. His support among conservatives is very shallow.”

Yes, let's get rid of ALL the moderate Republicans. They are simply RINOs. I mean every Repubilcan should believe in:

1) Outlawing the pill and other contraceptive devices because those things prevent the cluster of cells formed after conception from implanting in the uterus - that's murder.

2) Forcing women to bear their rapist's child, but not providing them any prenatal care because that's communism.

3) Jailing women for murder who have abortions or maybe even miscarriages - because really it amounts to basically the same thing. Women have such immense control over their reproduction - miscarriages must mean that women didn't want the baby.

Hear, hear Mr. Perkins! Flush out all the non-true believers and what's left of the Republican party will continue to shock and awe Americans - much as Todd Akin has.